Schedule release currently planned for April 23

Earlier today, the range of possible dates for the 2015 schedule release was narrowed to three:  April 21, 22, and 23.  It now can be further narrowed.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the schedule currently is expected to be released on Thursday, April 23.  That date could possibly change.

Since the regular-season ended, the full slate of 256 regular-season games already was known.  What hasn’t been known is when those games will be played.

Apart from the obvious interest to be generated by high-profile games played in prime time and on Thanksgiving, the official schedule also will show whether teams face easy or difficult foes to start the season.  For some teams, a strong start can build confidence.  For others, a weak record out of the gates can result in a premature folding of the tents.

Regardless of the specifics, it all gets started on Thursday, September 10, as the Patriots host one of eight possible foes on NBC:  the Jets, Bills, Dolphins, Steelers, Eagles, Jaguars, Titans, or Washington.

26 responses to “Schedule release currently planned for April 23

  1. I think it’s a virtual lock that the Steelers will play the Pats week 1 on Thursday night. Although what isn’t a lock is who those starting running backs will be for both teams..

  2. I’d like to see either the Eagles or the Bills… the Bills as first choice, actually, since Ryan and Belichick always seem to produce great games when coaching against each other.

    I’m also voting for the Bills to be on Hard Knocks.

  3. It’s either going to be the Steelers or Eagles, with an advantage towards the Steelers since they’re the only playoff team on that list.

    Wow. The Patriots play just one game this season at home against a 2014 playoff participant.

  4. Who the defending SB Champ opens with is not something I have been able to guess correctly yet, so I will just wait to hear……..In order to be right and get in some sort of guess that I feel will be right, I will guess that the Pats start Brady at QB……

  5. I don’t believe the Pats will play the Eagles in the opener. Thanks to the whole Demarco Murray thing, I think the league will have Eagles-Cowboys on the Sunday night opener

  6. Not sure why the league would announce the schedule so close to the draft. Maybe I am assuming everyone is a football nerd like me but I would think they would do better releasing the schedule in early April so everyone can talk about the schedule for a few weeks before the draft. The week before the draft everybody is already talking nfl bc of the draft.

  7. The league does not like to schedule a division game to start the season. The Steelers would be the safest pick. The Eagles would be the most interesting.
    .

  8. So far, we have had Sea/GB, Den/Bal, Dal/NJG, GB/NO, NO/Min, Pit/Ten, NJG/Was, Ind/NO, Pitt/Mia, and NE/Oak.

    So the NFL has scheduled only one game between conferences since they started opening the season with the Super Bowl winner, NO v Indy. So right off the bat, the Eagles and Redskins are out imo, based on past scheduling practices.

    It comes down to two teams, the Bills and the Steelers. I think the RR vs. BB angle is too good for the NFL to pass up, so I’m thinking it will be Buffalo.

  9. The schedule would be even more newsworthy if Week 1 included something like:

    49ers vs. Rams at LOS ANGELES.

  10. Not sure why the league would announce the schedule so close to the draft. Maybe I am assuming everyone is a football nerd like me but I would think they would do better releasing the schedule in early April so everyone can talk about the schedule for a few weeks before the draft. The week before the draft everybody is already talking nfl bc of the draft.
    ___________________________________
    I believe it’s a given, you have some at the NFL offices that believe they know a helluva lot more that they actually do.

  11. Wow. The Patriots play just one game this season at home against a 2014 playoff participant.
    __________________________________

    Something we have known since mid January.

  12. Visual evidence of how Patriots get into the playoffs every season. I guess every 10 years of rolling the dice pays off. What a joke of a division, how is it even possible that 3 other division opponents are relevant once every decade or so.

  13. Just keep stringing it out even longer Goodell, you do NOTHING for the Fans, Cuban is right YOU are killing the NFL with your worthless decisions!!!

  14. with this commish every thing has to change , once again without a thought given to the season ticket holders . the schedule used to come out at the beginning of March with the season ticket invoices ; the fans could set up their season choices . not anymore. :/

  15. Interesting Fact: by simply announcing the schedule, the Jets are already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

  16. All signs point to the Steelers to play in New England to open season.

    All preseason openers since 2008 have been AFC vs. AFC. or NFC. vs. NFC. and have featured away team that finished preseason at home.

    Steelers, Dolphins, Jets, and Titans are only teams that match that criteria. Steelers are likely pick.

  17. I think the pats should have a strong team to open with. Steelers could be the one, or REX and the Bills would work. Bill

  18. The often overlooked factor is how the networks split the games up themselves.

    The ideal season opener for 2014 would have been the SB rematch that DEN/SEA offered, but it was basically the only interesting Seattle-related game CBS had control of. CBS would have had the Raiders and Broncos at Seattle (and who wants to watch the Raiders); FOX would have had the Chargers & Chiefs. So they weren’t going to give it up, which left either SF/SEA or GB/SEA as the only noticeably acceptable headline games.

  19. The Patriots will host a contender (Eagles) not a pretender, stay tuned.
    The Steelers are depleted now with retirements.

  20. Rex and his rejuvenated Bills would like to go to play an away game vs. Belichick and Brady on September 10… stay tuned.

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